Chief says Nissen’s impact on community outweighs circumstances of his death

Kingston school board President James Shaughnessy said that he was first taken aback by a pointed headline in a local newspaper boiling Nissen down to a “drunk cop,” describing the blunt headline as “a harsh way of putting it.” Shaughnessy felt that the headline itself opened wounds. “I look on it like a tragedy regardless of how it happened,” he said. “We will all learn a lesson from it. We all have to be responsible for our behavior. It’s sad and doesn’t take away from the impact that he had on the students’ lives at Miller. He was still an effective advocate.”  Shaughnessy said since the results were released during spring break, administrators haven’t had the opportunity to discuss how they would handle the revelation. Shaughnessy speculated that it would likely involve the district’s crisis intervention team. Superintendent Paul Padalino was not available for comment. Students and staff will return next week.